Category Archives: putting by

Southern Region Eat Local Challenge

The folks formerly known as the Southern Region in previous Dark Days Eat Local Challenges are keeping the challenge going this year! AnnieRie Unplugged has a post up about it.

Generally in these challenges, you prepare one local meal per week and post about it on your blog, citing your food sources. Usually, participants declare their “exceptions” at the outset, for example spices, sugar and other things that don’t grow in their region.

While it’s no longer a challenge for me to eat locally (daily, even), I think it’s fabulous that people are keeping the challenge going to show the folks just starting out that it can be done and how.

The secret to a successful Dark Days Challenge is putting by (preserving foods) in season. (Okay, that’s not really a secret—our forebears did it for generations!) Meat and dairy are generally available through the winter and ingredients like herbs, garlic, onions, and tomatoes go a long way for soups, stews, pot roasts, and many other winter dishes. When that summer CSA is inundating you with greens and other veggies, cook them up and freeze them. There’s nothing like buttered corn in the middle of January to make you feel summery all over again!

Still, if you didn’t plan in advance (like I didn’t my first year, since it just sort of came up), you may be surprised at all of the foods you can find in your local foodshed and just how resourceful you really are.

Good luck to all the challenge-takers!

Local Thanksgiving 2012

A happy tradition of a Thanksgiving of local food continues at my house…

Appetizers

A number of these items were put by in season to be enjoyed now.

Soup

Chicken soup with bowtie pasta or brown rice. Chicken from Sankow’s Beaver Brook, onions and carrots from Newtown Cedar Hill Farm, celeriac from Riverbank Farm, and leeks and garlic from Sport Hill Farm. Parsnips, pasta and rice: not local.

Main Course

Dessert

Beverages

Thanks to all of my farmers—I hope your holiday was as fabulous as mine. Thank you to my family for your help and a great day.

Occupy the Kitchen

Before Occupy Wall Street and even before the financial collapse of 2008, local foodies have been well aware of the negative effects of the special relationship between corporations, our elected officials, and the government agencies created to look out for the interests of the people.

In the years since this compact between huge corporations and the government began, we’ve seen an increase in chronic illnesses, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and a glut of some of the most hideous phood products in history. We’ve seen the methods of food production become more industrialized and along with that, an increase in pollution, soil depletion, and food contamination and a decrease of nutrient density. We’ve seen a decrease in the number of farms and farmers while the remaining farms are concentrated in the hands of a few corporations.

In the interest of full disclosure, I haven’t been to any of the Occupy locations (although there’s an Occupy New Haven) and I’m waiting to see more before I decide if the occupations are a good idea, but I do agree with the premise: that it is time for the 99% to stop tolerating the greed and corruption of the 1%and their purchase of our legal and political systems.

So, I’m occupying the kitchen. As you may know, I am a local foodie (locavore) year ’round. Every dollar I don’t spend at Stop and Shop is a dollar that goes to the actual producers in my town, state, region. I like handing those dollars directly to the people who did the work. I realize that one person eating locally does not effect vast and sweeping change, but I believe in what Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.”

I live in New England and I’m no Eliot Coleman (even in the summer), so I count on others to raise my food for me. So, at this time of year, I’m working like a squirrel, storing food for the winter. (More of a pre-occupation than an occupation.)

I invite you to Occupy the Kitchen too. Try putting at least one local food away to consume over the winter. It doesn’t matter what or how—you can freeze it, can it, dehydrate it, ferment it, whatever you like. In addition to being additive free, each item you put by is one less item you have to buy from a Big Corporation.

My Occupy the Kitchen project today was dried garlic. I peeled and sliced the garlic and dried it in the dehydrator at 120 degrees until they were crispy. I’ll grind them in a spice mill and have my own garlic powder.

There are lots of resources available for putting by foods, including your search engine if you don’t want to buy a book. I’m personally fond of Put ‘Em Up, by Sherri Brooks Vinton. I hope you’ll decide to try this at least once.

There are some good reads on the Internet on the intersection of the food movement with the Occupy movement. Steph Larson at  Grist has a great article:

I believe one fundamental way to rebel against an unjust economic system is to grow my own food. This way, my primary means of sustenance is out of the hands of corporations. Most food sold in grocery stores — even organic food — is owned by a few, very consolidated agribusinesses. Growing your own food undercuts their power.

The 99 percent movement has been criticized for not having a specific policy agenda, but I agree with George Lakoff; this is about a lot more than policy. It’s about our collective values as Americans. Growing food, bartering, and supporting local businesses are only a few of the many ways to wrestle power away from corporations and put it back in the hands of the people.

Also check out the articles by Kristin Wartman at Civil Eats as well as Tom Philpott at Mother Jones, where he says, “Because Big Food makes Big Finance look like amateurs.”

As it happens, there’s going to be an occupy against big food event at Zucotti Park (Occupy Wall Street) on October 29 at 1 PM.

In closing, I leave you with this image of my current favorite sign from the occupation:

. .

Note: This post is shared at Hartke’s Blog Carnival.

 

Sport Hill Farm 2011 CSA – Week 12

With uncertainty about what hurricane Irene might do to the crops, here’s the bounty from week 12 of my Sport Hill Farm CSA:

  • 1/2 dozen ears of corn
  • 1 bag of potatoes
  • 1 bag of sweet onions
  • 6 sweet Bianca peppers
  • 1 cantaloupe
  • 1 bag of cherry tomatoes (mix-n-match)
  • 6-8 red or orange tomatoes (mix-n-match)
  • 1 yellow brandywine heirloom tomato
  • 1 bunch of kale (bonus/optional)

I’ve learned a fabulous new way to cook corn (soon to be featured in another post). I’m particularly looking forward to that cantaloupe. Al picked the first two last week and I swiped one immediately. It was delicious, refreshing, and everything else you want a cantaloupe to be. The cherry tomatoes are in the dehydrator as we speak, becoming “sun-dried.” I can and do eat tomato salads every day, and that’s what’s in store for the rest of the tomatoes. I’m thrilled to have another bunch of the Toscano kale. Kale is one of the nutrient super foods and this is my favorite variety of kale.